live greatest hits
there is an age old trend that has stagnated throughout the music industry that live records never sell as well as their studio predecessors and this cd might just very well be one of the most prominent reasons behind that. we have come to the gerogerigegege's crowning acheivement and rather humourous claim to fame in the noise underground's hall of shame. welcome to the illustrious world of SENZURI, the wacky japanese past time of male masturbation. literally translated into "1000 strokes," the gerogerigegege's lasting legacy has been built up in the annals of the noise world by this most sleaziest of pastimes. the cover bares a clean and clear black and white photo of senzuri being perfromed by "gero-30," an old homeless transient that juntaro allegedly befriended who had a rather exhibitionist streak in him and enjoyed the act of pleasuring himself in front of people. there is also a rather interesting written overview of the gerogerigegege on the front cover where one atushi sasaki attempts to underline and explain the intentions of the gerogerigegege. aside from many grammatical errors (which are all too common in most japanese releases that contain the use of the english language), john zorn is aptly mentioned (in the correlation between his scandolous TORTURE GARDEN lp and the now legendary TOKYO ANAL DYNAMITE cd), although under the assumed guise of john zone. the liner notes include a rather extensive chronology of live gero appearences from 1986 to 1990 and a rather unusual list of "instruments." among other things, the use of ejaculate, whip, vibrator, hand, enema, and an "erectric cord," of which there is also a visual accompaniment on the back side of the liner notes for all 3 of you listeners and fine art connoisseurs enjoying the album. 3 tracks, all recorded fairly well, with nothing more than the occasional crowd buffoonery one could have expected at a gg allin gig. the 1st track implements the use of a drum machine and the liner notes claim that "the live sounds is a tribute to suicide." i am sure alan vega and martin rev are quite proud. both the 1st and 2nd tracks end with the same rather obnoxious melodramatic japanese soft rock gem equivalent to any american bible belt christian ballads so readily available on any "songs for worship" compilation cds. gero-30 singing along at the end just adds the cherry on top. the 2nd track starts off with a rather cinematic and stagy intro before the 5 on 1 brutality ensues. the final track is easily the creepiest piece on the entire cd. it sounds like it was recorded in some sort of cellar-like S&M club with very loud tape hiss in the background and metal pipes clanging together. there is also a faint recording of some classicial piano music (a reoccuring theme...?) going on along with some type of flute instruments as well. the liners credit "gero-36" (you mean there is more than one???) and also list various sexual devices that one can hear being put to use throughout the recording. the enema portion is particulary interesting. there is also a part when gero-36 starts being whipped. it actually sounds like there are about 3 people in the crowd. if you think of yourself weird because you own one merzbow cd, you should probably stay away from this one. none the less a rather worthwhile release thats sure to please in more than one way.
on vis a vis audio arts label 1991.
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